Disclosed herein are compositions and methods for the treatment of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS), in particular, in association with hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT recipients, and methods for patients for effective treatment of same using protein and functional biomarkers. In certain aspect, the disclosed compositions and methods may be used for early identification of individuals likely to develop BOS such that optimal treatment may be provided, wherein the methods may employ detection and assessment of one or both of a biomarker and lung function.

The invention provides diagnostic and therapeutic targets for pulmonary disease, in particular, fibrotic lung disease. The inventors have found that a genetic variant MUC5B gene is associated with increased expression of the gene, increased risk of developing a pulmonary disease, and an improved prognosis and survival among those developing the pulmonary disease.

The present invention relates to a reliable method of prediction of lower respiratory tract infection or inflammation in humans, wherein the level of pancreatic stone protein/regenerating protein (PSP/reg) is determined in serum, and a high level is indicative of the development and the severity of the disease, allowing the classification of patients according to risk.

Disclosed are methods and devices for analyzing exhaled breath aerosols and exhaled breath condensates using various diagnostic tools that enable rapid, low cost and autonomous point of care assays for several diseases including respiratory tract diseases. Disclosed are methods and devices for analyzing exhaled breath aerosols and exhaled breath condensates for tuberculosis diagnosis using mass spectrometry, including MALDI-MS. The disclosed systems and methods provide for a diagnostic test result in less than about 20 minutes and provides for autonomous operation with minimal human intervention.

Disclosed herein are methods and compositions for processing biofluid samples. Some such methods may include obtaining a biofluid sample from a subject having a disease state such as lung cancer. The biofluid sample may be contacted with a nanoparticles to adsorb proteins. The proteins may then be ionized or contacted with a detection reagent. Also disclosed herein are compositions comprising proteins coupled to a nanoparticle upon contact of the nanoparticle with a biofluid sample from a subject having a disease.

The present invention relates to the field of mucin isoforms, more in particular for use in the diagnosis, monitoring, prevention and/or treatment of a disease characterized by barrier dysfunction, such as but not limited to a gastrointestinal disorder (e.g. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), cancer, gastro-intestinal infections, obesitas, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)), neurodegenerative disorders, respiratory infections, . . . In a specific embodiment, said mucin isoform is selected from the list comprising: MUC1 isoforms and MUC13 isoforms.

An in vitro method is provided for determining the severity and/or prognosis of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in a subject, based on the expression of one or more mucin genes in respiratory epithelial cells. The respiratory epithelial cells can be isolated from a biological sample of a subject, or they can be cultured in vitro and exposed to a biological sample of the subject.

Provided are methods for generating prognostic signatures for subject diagnosed with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) with respect to decline in lung Forced Vital Capacity (FVC). The methods can include determining first expression levels for one or more genes as set forth herein in a first biological sample obtained from a subject diagnosed with IPF, determining a second expression level for the same one or more genes in a second biological sample obtained from the subject, and comparing the first and second expression levels for the one or more genes to provide a prognostic signature. The first and second biological samples can include peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and/or nucleic acids extracted from PBMCs. Also provided are methods for classifying subjects with IPF as being at risk for FVC decline, for identifying and treating at risk subjects, and for monitoring the progress of treatments.

Provided is a drug target for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and the use thereof. The drug target is AREG signaling in AT2 cells of the lung. The drug target can be used to screen drugs for treating and/or preventing pulmonary fibrosis, in particular, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) of animals and human beings.

The present invention relates to a reliable method of prediction of lower respiratory tract infection or inflammation in humans, wherein the level of pancreatic stone protein/regenerating protein (PSP/reg) is determined in serum, and a high level is indicative of the development and the severity of the disease, allowing the classification of patients according to risk.